welcome to "newsline." it's friday, june 21st. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. investors headed into work not sure of the kind of day they would have. they watched colleagues on wall street struggle through one of the worst days in months. traders started fretting when policy makers suggested they could reduce economic stimulus later this year. the average tumbled more than 350 points. the federal reserve had fuelled gapes for months investing billions to get more money 234r0eing through the economy. the central bankers suggested

that if the recovery continued, they could scale back investments. ben bernanke said they would evaluate threats and believe the risk for the economy have diminished. investors don't like what nay are hearing. they fell by about 3%. and they are hoping for more stability to close out the week. managers at japan's biggest banks have their own executives at bank of tokyo ufj agreed to pay $250 million to regulators in new york. they transferred billions to countries facing u.s. sanctions. they moved $100 billion to iran,

myanmar and sudan in violation of new york state law. between 2002 and 2007 they carried out about 28,000 such transactio transactions. managers instructed employees to strip information from wire transfer messages that could identify countries and people subject to international sanctions. bank officials say they have been working since 2007 to meet obligations. they said in a statement that they are cooperating with the regulators. u.s. president barack obama is changing the rules that govern how his country handles its most destructive weapons. the defense department revised guidelines on nuclear arms for the first time in 11 years. military commanders will e deuce their reliance on nuclear weapons. they said his goal is to make the world free of nuclear

weapons and spoke about plans going forward. >> after a review, i determined we can ensure the security of america and allies and maintain a strong and credible deterrent while deploying weapons up to one third. >> defense department officials announced the guidelines to maintain deterrence of nuclear weapons while reducing alliance on them. they will consider the use of weapons only in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests and those of allies. they say civilians or civilian facilities would not be target and collateral damage would be kept to a minimum. u.s. leaders will aim to strengthen capabilities and deter attacks. ancient mosques, citadels and markets got caught up in the crossfire of the civil war in syria. experts with the united nations

cultural agencies say six historical sites are in imminent dearing. members are meeting in the cambodian camp. they decided to add the six sites. they thrived as an oasis within the roman empire. they served as a caravan stop along the road. travelers and days gone by stopped at another cross roads in the ancient city and most spent time at one of the largest and oldest bazaars in the middle east. it burned down in the fighting. a mosque was destroyed too. the people can offer financial assistance to restore the sites, but admit that may be difficult while government and opposition forces continue to fight. the family of a chinese human rights activist is living in fear about his latest campaign.

he is scheduled to visit taiwan on sunday to deliver a speech about universal freedoms. his elder brother said they may react with more harassment with members of his family. he spent years challenging authorities about forced abortions and sterilizations under china's one child policy. in 2005, they placed him under house arrest. he escaped last year and fled to the u.s. embassy in deginning. they allowed him to fly to new york. his brother repeatedly harassed members of his family and it could get worse if he delivers a lecture on human rights. >> translator: posters have been put up. they read if 3450i brother goes to taiwan, we fair they may not

be able to go peacefully if he travels to taiwan. >> officials have promised to investigate allegations of harassment and has yet to see any results. the leader of the group of exiled ouigers criticized the government for what she calls a severe lum an rights violation against ethnic minorities. the congress leader spoke at a news conference in tokyo. she said in the ouiger awe t autonomous region, some some cases they were fatal she said china's human rights violations are the worst ever. the government has been criticizing her for instigating separatist movements in the autonomous region. as we have been reporting, this promises to be a busy day on markets across asia.

investors saw the dow jones plummet more than 350 points and traders are wondering what's in store for them. how are investors feeling? >> they may have been worried before. they are more concerned about the tapering bond buying program. stock markets plunged on thursday recording the biggest drop for this year. to see all that, let's go to the stock exchange. how low are we and the dow jones average actually suffered the biggest drop in terms of points since november 2011. quite a big move there and let's see through is translating. you can clearly see there big losses, over 2%.

for the topix. we will be tracking asian indeces as well which may be weighed down by the negative sentiment. katherine was showing the european indeces as well. nobly marks are shifting lower. we have been following commodities as well. oil and gold as well. on weaker consensus and key manufacturing data. and concerns of course about the ending of the fed's stimulus program playing through stock and commodity markets. >> one asset that has surged has been the dollar. where are we during tokyo hours? >> that has been buck the trend. let's have a look. dollar-yen. 97.08-12. selling emerging market currencies as well as the yen and the euro. the main premises is based on the fact that if the fed sees

the u.s. economy based on present and upcoming data, then there is less need to pump billions of dollars of cash into the u.s. economy. from a simple demand and supply point of view, that makes the dollar more attractive. that's what we are seeing right now. data on thursday in the u.s. proved that point as well. housing markets such as existing home sales data jumped in may and a report on business conditions rebounded in june to the highest level since april 2011. the dollar trended with the recent gains as a fall as they pushed further. the risk averse mood, prompting some selling. the euro-yen is 128.44-50. we will see if they wipe out the

triple-digit gains for the nikkei and see how it pans out today. well over 200 points down for the nikkei. back to you. >> thank are for the update from the tokyo stock exchange. shareholders at clear wire are to accept a buy out by mobile phone firm sprint nextel. that means they will wholly own clear wire and the range of band width. sprint bosses own a controlling stake in clear wire, but faced opposition in turning the company into a wholly owned subsidia subsidiary. satellite tv company dish network was also trying to buy out the provider. they said last week they would support a buy out from dish, but sprint offered them a better deal on thursday. bosses of japan can hope they can buy up sprint and gain access to all of the assets too. i will be back next hour with

more business headlines. i will leave you with a check on regional markets. the prime minister of singapore issing residents to stay indoors. from indonesia, it blanketed the city in a thick haze and the air quality is the worst on record. >> singapore is proud of its

streets and clear air, but today a thick haze is blocking the view of a sky strainer. air quality in the city state deteriorated to levels classified as hazardous. on wednesday and thursday. the density of pollutants in the air hits the highest level ever set by the government of singapore. smoke comes from slash and burn farming. the method triggers in forest fires. seasonal winds blow the smoke across the straight. prime minister lee held a press conference on thursday to address the situation. >> we can't tell how the problem is going to develop. it can last for several weeks and quite possibly longer dry s. >> the pollution is affecting the daily lives of singaporeans.

people wear masks to walk the streets. they are suspending fitness classes. haze surrounds the area. >> we are here to see the view, but not to see. >> some restaurants have closed doors for the time being. people working in the tourism industry are calling on indonesia to take responsibility. >> it is a sovereign state and a sovereign nation. i feel there is a thing called a moral obligation to a human being. >> it's a major trading and financial hub in southeast asia. they threaten activities and the

government is urging them to take steps to improve the situation. nhk world, singapore. >> the only two operating reactors in japan are expected to pass new safety guidelines and stay online this summer. the new guidelines will take effect in july. they have utilities to strengthen measures against beings like the that occurred in fukushima two years ago. they submitted a draft report on the safety assessment of the number three and number four reactors at the plant in the prefecture. the reactors will not be affected by a major earthquake, but adds that the geological strat is under the site are not fully known. it urges them to improve emergency measures including the on site emergency response

facility. the report conclude that is the two are unlikely to cause a serious safety problem. the nra plans to compile a final report after a meeting on minute with officials from the electric power company. the reactors are scheduled to go off line in september for mandatory checks. some are cautious about the safety of nuclear power. >> translator: i hope they will operate safely. any problems will directly affect our lives. >> translator: the people at the town had no say in whether there should be reactors here. but i have strong doubts about nuclear energy. many problems have occurred since the fukushima accidents. >> the mayor is confident the reactors will stay online this summer. a new break water is completed at a nuclear plant on the sea of japan coast designed

to prevent large tsunami waves. they were invited to get a look at the new safety features at the facility. the tokyo electric power company is in the prefecture to meet new safety guidelines. the 15-meter break water can protect the reactor buildings even if hit by waves as large as the ones on march 11th, 2011. they let reporters watch the work to set up filter vents at the plant. the system can release pressure and containment vessels while limiting the emission of substances. the operator hopes to win local understanding for the safety measures so it can quickly apply to restart the reactors. >> fresh water eel is a popular dish in japan and consumeing it on hot days beats the heat.

as demand grows abroad, we have more. . >> eel is a staple of the japanese diet. a traditional way of enjoying it is a kobayashi style diping it in a sweet soy sauce glaze and grilled. it is seen as a delicacy that provides stamina as it is rich in vitamins. >> translator: i crave it in the summer. >>. >> translator: i keep eating it as long as i can afford to. >> fresh water eel is becoming an expensive habit. much is imported from china and the weaker yen is putting pressure on buyers.

domestic producers are also facing challenges that stem from the weak currency. the feed is imported from south america is now more expensive. the fish is also becoming popular outside japan. the amount is particularly strong with wealthy russians and americans. now japanese buyers have to compete with them for eel from china. this eel restaurant in tokyo was established 140 years ago. the price of a domestic eel dish here is now more than 3,000 yen, almost $30. its owners don't want to raise prices and are trying to compensate by reducing kitchen staff.

>> translator: if we raise prices, we lose customers. we need to make more cuts to cope with the suppliers' price hikes. the eel costs about $5 more per kilothan last year. >> many consuchl mers can't get hunt on the real thing. chicks en stepping in to fill the gap. they are made to look like eel. one company offers it another option. shark. this fish say common variety of shark that is readily available around the world. this company processes 500 tons of the fish every year. they decided to offer this

alternative. they say it tastes just like eel and has a similar texture, but comes with an affordable price tag. the manufacturer hopes that the new product will be a hit with eel lovers. >> translator: let's say you feel like eel. but there isn't any available. that's where the dog fish comes in. i would like to make it a bigger business opportunity. >> as eel prices soar around the world, businesses are dreaming up more product that satisfy customer's cravings without breaking the bank. nhk world, tokyo. >> the united nations has did designated june 20th as world refugee day. a fashion show to raise

awareness of the issue took place on thursday in tokyo. a group of college and high school students organized the event. models walked the runway wearing outfits from countries such as afghanistan and myanmar. many have been forced to flee from homes. an official from the un refugee agency explained that more than 45.2 million people have been displaced due to conflicts or violence. about 15 million fled across boarders. a revenue took place as a nail beautician. >> translator: i want people in japan to know there refugees from myanmar in this country. we want to live as human beings. >> i will learn more about the refugee issue from the event.

>> 2,545 people applied for refugee status in japan, the largest number to date. only 18 were accepted, less than 1%. it's a far cry from canada and the united states, about 40 to 50% are granted refugee status. time now for a check on weather. people are dealing with record amounts of rain. we go for world weather. >> a strong frontal system that is from a tropical storm has been causing rain across parts of japan. i want to show you this video. dealing with record breaking amounts of rain. the river reached hazardous levels and residents were driven

from their homes. some received about 350 millimeters of rain in a day. more than 700 households were forced to evacuate. authorities are advising people to take precautions against further landslides. rain will continue throughout the day because of a tropical storm. they changed the area and moved towards the east as we go into tomorrow. it should weaken into a low pressure system by tonight. the good news is that it's on a weakening track. winds will not be too strong, but rainfall is going to be quite a lot. we expect more than 100 millimeters of rainfall and wide area and 200 millimeters for parts of the area. quite heavy rain that could trigger flooding and landslides. the system will likely make landfall this afternoon or this

evening local time. we have philippines that could become a tropical storm by tonight and likely head towards southeastern china. it has been producing lots of rain across the philippines and our risk of severe weather across southeastern china. temperatures will be quite high. in beijing going up to 29 degrees, cooling off to 23 degrees on friday. north america, a tropical depression has been soaking the location across southern mexico and the rainfall could be 250 millimeters of rain. flooding and land slights will be a major issue. happening across the mid-western states and the northern plains

and central canada. isolated tornados likely and the main threats will be large and strong winds and also a heavy rain. across the south, we have seen lingering rain across the florida peninsula, but dry across the southwest. temperatures will be cooling down to 18 degrees in vancouver as well as seattle. warm across the northeast at 27 in new york city and 28 in washington, d.c. finally in europe after causing serious floods across the west, the lingering storm system is moving towards the northeast. for part was germany and the low countries. nasty weather will affect the pe flans on friday. a ridge of highway pressure system is causing lots of sunshine. 31 in vienna and pud best on friday. here's the extended forecast. #

>> a reminder of the late story. investors started what could be a big day on the market.

they have seen colleagues on wall street struggle through the worst day of the year. the dow jones industrial average tumbled more than 350 points. the federal reserve has been pumping billions into the markets to get more money flowing through the economy. the central bankers suggested if the recovery continues, they could scale back investments. the chairman said policy makers continue to evaluate threats and believed that the risk for the labor market diminished. investors don't like what they are hearing. share prices in paris, frunkfort and london fell by about 3%. others are hoping for more stability to close out there week. that wraps up this edition of "newsline." do stay with us. we will be back with more at the top of the hour.

>> ted kooser was an insurance man for 35 years before he became poet laureate of the united states. he lives with his wife and two dogs near the town of garland, nebraska, where he writes about life on the great plains.

>> here, on fine long legs springy as steel a life rides, sealed in a small brown pill that skims along over the basement floor wrapped up in a simple obsession. eight legs reach out like the master ribs of a web in which some thought is caught dead center in its own small world, a thought so far from the touch of things that we can only guess at it. if mine, it would be the secret dream of walking alone across the floor of my life with an easy grace, and with love enough to live on at the center of myself. ( applause ) ú